An approach for the evaluation of rural governance in Cameroon: are community forests really forests for the communities?

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the contribution of the traditional exploitation of timber, in a community framework, to the respect of governance principles in actions for the fight against poverty in some rural communities in Cameroon. In 1990, the government of Cameroon adopted laws on the freedom of association that authorised teaming up for the search of possibilities for a better economic welfare of populations. It is in line with this that in 1994, a new forest law which authorises willing communities to organise themselves and request the government to grant them a portion of the national forest of the public domain to be managed by them and for their personal interest. Also, and with the help of the international community, Cameroon elaborated in 1998 its first poverty reduction strategy paper that encouraged amongst others, community actions in the search of solutions to the economic crisis that stroke the country. Through the application of a logit model to the responses collected through a survey carried out on a sample of 200 individuals of the East region of Cameroon, it was noticed that timber exploitation in a community framework does not necessarily lead to the strengthening of the links of belonging to a common community, and to the equitable redistribution of revenues from the exploitation of the community forest.Community forests, gender, equity, governance, fight against poverty, participation

Diversité ethno-culturelle et différentiel de pauvreté multidimensionnelle au Cameroun

Peu de recherches ont concilié le caractère multidimensionnel de la pauvreté avec le conditionnement culturel des populations pour orienter les politiques. La démarche de la MES (Modélisation en Équations Structurelles) à travers sa technique de comparaison de modèles nichés a permis de formuler et de tester les hypothèses de recherche. Les résultats montrent que les différences de niveau observées sur les dimensions de pauvreté résultent significativement (ce qui ne veut pas dire exclusivement) des systèmes de valeurs culturelles partagés au sein des groupes. Les facteurs par lesquels transite l'élément culturel vers le domaine de la pauvreté sont de deux ordres. Il s'agit du différentiel des perceptions et des déterminants de la pauvreté. Compte tenu de ces résultats et pour une stratégie crédible de réduction de la pauvreté, nous proposons une approche participative et décentralisée prudente pour définir les actions de lutte répondant aux besoins exprimés par les populations concernées.Pauvreté multidimensionnelle, culture, différentiel de pauvreté, MES, modèles nichés, variables latentes, indicateurs de pauvreté

A TRANSNATIONAL APPROACH IN RESOLVING DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS IN CENTRAL AFRICA: THE CASE OF INICA

In Central Africa we often see delays and / or failures of initiatives with supranational character (CEMAC CEFDHAC, ECCAS, etc) referring to the implementation of development projects and in the resolution of various conflicts. Thus a new tool for the resolution of transnational dispute has been devised and implemented in 2004 to mark the regional dimension in the resolution of many common conflicts between Central African populations: it is the Initiative for Central Africa (INICA).Central Africa, conflicts, transnational dispute, CEMAC CEFDHAC, ECCAS, INICA

An approach for the evaluation of rural governance in Cameroon: are community forests really forests for the communities?

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the contribution of the traditionalexploitation of timber, in a community framework, to the respect of governanceprinciples in actions for the fight against poverty in some rural communities inCameroon. In 1990, the government of Cameroon adopted laws on the freedomof association that authorised teaming up for the search of possibilities for abetter economic welfare of populations. It is in line with this that in 1994, a newforest law which authorises willing communities to organise themselves andrequest the government to grant them a portion of the national forest of thepublic domain to be managed by them and for their personal interest. Also, andwith the help of the international community, Cameroon elaborated in 1998 itsfirst poverty reduction strategy paper that encouraged amongst others,community actions in the search of solutions to the economic crisis that strokethe country. Through the application of a logit model to the responses collectedthrough a survey carried out on a sample of 200 individuals of the East regionof Cameroon, it was noticed that timber exploitation in a community frameworkdoes not necessarily lead to the strengthening of the links of belonging to acommon community, and to the equitable redistribution of revenues from theexploitation of the community forest

ANALYSE DES DETERMINANTS DE L'OFFRE DE L'EAU POTABLE AU CAMEROUN

Le Cameroun, malgré des prédispositions naturelles qui lui permettent d’avoir des ressources en eau importantes, a du mal à atteindre la cible 2 de l’objectif 7 des objectifs de développement du millénaire (OMD), à savoir réduire de moitié, d’ici 2015, le pourcentage de la population qui n’a pas accès de façon durable à un approvisionnement en eau potable et à un assainissement de base. Notre objectif à travers cette étude est de fournir un outil de promotion de l’accessibilité à l’eau potable au Cameroun, ainsi qu’à sa gestion durable. Elle cherche à capter les déterminants de l’offre d’eau afin de cerner les raisons de l’inadéquation entre celle-ci (l’offre d’eau) et la demande. L’analyse des données réalisée grâce au logiciel Eviews 5 nous montre que l’insuffisance des investissements réalisés dans le secteur et les perceptions anachroniques des populations en ce qui concerne la gestion de l’eau constituent les principaux freins à une offre suffisante de l’eau potable. Ainsi, la résolution des problèmes hydriques au Cameroun passe inévitablement par une augmentation de l’enveloppe budgétaire allouée au secteur de l’eau et par une sensibilisation des populations sur la nécessité d’une gestion durable des ressources environnementales en général et de la ressource hydrique en particulier

Gouvernance, institutions et protection de l’environnement dans les pays de la CEEAC

This article re-examines the effects of governance/institutions on the quality of the environment captured successively by the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in the countries of the Community. economy of Central African States (ECCAS), under the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve (CEK). The econometric model is inspired by the work of Grossman and Krueger (1991, 1995) and is estimated successively by generalized least squares (GLS) and double least squares with instrumental variables (DMC-IV). Two main results emerge from the study. Initially, there would be a “Pseudo CEK” in the shape of an “N” between economic growth and the different types of pollutants. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would then follow a sinusoidal or cyclical trend in ECCAS. Secondly, improving governance would make it possible to significantly reduce polluting emissions in the countries under consideration. Therefore, the strengthening of programs of governance and improvement of the quality of institutions will generally contribute to reducing the levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in ECCAS countries